Fruit-elevator.



J. B. HORRELL &'A. S. BRYANT. FRUIT ELBVATOB. j- APPLIOATION FILED IANA, 190e,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

' VIV/ lneas asxA /m/e/farv COLUMBIA PLANouRAPl-l C0..WASHINOTON, D. c.

J. B. HORRELL & A. s. BRYANT.

FRUIT ELBVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED IAN-4, 1906.

1,028,823, PatentedJune 4, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

coLUMBM PLANDcuAPl-l C0., WASHINGTON. D. c.

Nrrn sTArns PATENT onmcn.V

.TOI-IN B. HORRELL AND ARTHUR S. BRYANT, OF SANTA PAULA, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGN ORS, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO I-I. K. MILLER MANFG. CO., ,OF GLEN- DORA, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

FRUIT-ELEVATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led January 4, 1906. Serial No. 294,504.

Fruit-Elevator, of which the following is a specication.

This invention is more particularly designed for delivering lemons to a brushing or cleaning apparatus, but may be used for elevating other kinds of fruits. j

It is necessary in handling lemons that the' same shall not be abraded or bruised, and an object of this invention is to provide an elevator which 'will separate lemons individually from a mass of lemons and will deliver them in an appropriate manner without injury to the brushing or cleaning machine. It is to be understood, however, that we do not limit the invention to any particular use, nor to the specilic construction hereinafter set forth. y

The invention includes an elevator for supplying individual fruits in rapid succession to a chute or other device, and also includes means for so supplying `fruits to a plurality of such devices with slight care and attention.

The invention relates to that form of fruitelevatorwhich comprises a tank having a body of liquid therein, a curved guide below the liquid level of the tank,acurved guide above said level and a conveyer to take fruits floating in the tank and to deliver them outside of the tank.

In this invention the conveyer comprises Ytwo traveling belts one outside the other, said belts being spaced apart and fastened to each other at intervals and running around said guides, the outer belt being adapted to berbent outward to formfoutwardly projecting yielding loops whereby pockets are formed between each of the two adjacent loops; the portion of said Aouter Vbelt which passes around the guide being vthereby bent outwardly to initiate outward bends for the loops, but drawn taut, so that there are no loops excepting between the guides, the loops being Aformed by means of Vsaid guides, which initiate the outward bend, and the relatively short inner belt 2 and the blocks 5 which are, 'relatively spaced at less distance apart than the lengthA i of the outer belt between the blocks, the loops therefore disappearing as the belt Jltaween the guides.

parts, features of novelty and combinations hereinafter set forth.

invention.

bodying this invention constructed with four individual elevators supplied from one tank; parts are broken away for clearness of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation from the line @ca -w3, Figs. 1 and 2, parts being broken away for clearness of illustration. Fig. 4 is a fragmental perspective detail of the conveyer of the elevator.

and 3,'looking in the direction of the arrow. The inclined traveling belt 1 is arranged aslant to travel around horizontal axes and most limb of the belt outward to form V shape pockets along such limb between the bends; said belt being applicable for use in a tank adapted to contain a body of liquid limb, whereby oating bodies may be segregated by the outwardly projecting yielding loops and be caught in the pockets formed of said belt in the liquid belowl the liquid without danger of bruising. The means shown in the drawings for looping the straight limb of the belt consist of an inner belt 2, trained around pulleys 3, 4, that have horizontal axes at' different levels and serve as curved guides for the inner belt, and standards or blocks 5 between the belts l and 2 to hold said belts apart at intervals. ports for the outer or pocket-forming belt 1 beinglrigidly mounted on links 6 Vwhich constitute the belt 2. Said pocket-forming belt is made of ordinary belting material from drooping between the blocks.

The pulleys 3, 4, are set/at different levels so that the belts slant upward from 3 to 4. By reference to, Fig. 5 it will be seen that Said invention also 'comprises various of illustration. Fig. 2 is a side elevation?I to submerge the lower end of such upper that has sufficient bodyto prevent the belt where the belts pass around the pulleys the n yextensions formed by the standards or Y Patented June 4, 1912.

Goes around the guide and re-appearing ben The accompanying drawings illustrate the A Figure 1 is a plan view of a machine em- Fig. 5 is a sectional detail from line @c5-m5, Figs. 1

means are provided for looping the upperlevel and may be carried upward thereby` Said standards `5 form rigidsupblocks 5 take up the slack of the outer belt 1, and that in the upper straight limb or portion of the belt 7 the tops of the standards are brought closer together, thereby causing the outwardly bent portion of the outer belt on leaving the pulley to be bent still more, thus forming upwardly-extending loops 9 on the upper slanting side; thus forming between the same and over the blocks or standards 5 pockets 10 for receiving and carrying the individual fruits 11. Means are provided for feeding fruits to the lower end of the upper side or limb 7 of the looped belt. Saidfeeding means comprise a tank 12 containing a body. of liquid 13, as water, extending above the level of the lower or receiving pulley 3 such a distance that if lelnons having a specific gravity less than the water are placed in the tank they can be floated along to Vposition where they will be' picked up by the first loop of the o-uter belt 1 as it comes from the bend at 8 formed by the lower pulley 3.

14 indicates a receiver or guide in the form of a chute above a bulk-head l5, which is below the liquid level w of the tank sufliciently to allow the lemons to float to the upper 'limb of the belt 1, above the lower pulley at the place where the loops take form.

16 indicates the sides of the chute.

17 is a feeding wheel mounted between the sides 16 of the chute, and provided wit-h flexible and soft yielding flippers 18 which may be formed of short strips of rubber belting and projecting cushions 19 for driv-v ing the floating fruit 11 forward into the chute into position to be caught by the ascending loops 9.

20 designates a discharge chute to which the fruits are delivered from above thecupper or delivery pulley 4.

21 is a driving sprocket chain around the sprocket wheel 22, and thrown into and out of gearing by the idler 23 carried by lever 24.

25 is a belt driven from shaft 26 of the upper pulley and driving the feeder wheel 17. Each of the units A, B, C, D, and any further number of units which may be applied in the machine will be driven from said shaft 26.

27 is a common shaft on which the lower pulleys 3 of the several units are carried.

28 is a common shaft for the several feeder wheels 17, said shaft being driven by pulley 29. l

In practical operation, the fruit will be gently emptied from the boxes, or other containers in whichthe same has been brought from the tree to the elevator, and when the machine is put into operation, the rotating Wheel 17 by means of itsl flippers 18 and cushions-19 will gently push the fruit along toward the buckets formed by the looping upwardly-moving upper limb 7 of the belt 1.

beneath them and above the wheel 3, thus gently separating the fruits from each other and carrying them upward singly, as shown in Fig. 5, until they come to a determined levelabove the upper pulley 4. At this point the increased distance between the outer ends of the blocks or standards 5 causes t-he loops 9 to successively change their form to discharge the fruit onto the chute 20 down which the same will gently guide to the cleaningapparatus, not shown.

In Fig. 3 of the drawings, the outer or pocket forming belt of 'the elevator is broken away and the feeding wheel 17 is o-mitted from the elevator at the extreme right; the outer belt is shown in the elevator next thereto, the feeding wheel 17 being omitted. In the two elevators at the left, the feedingwheel and other parts of the specific elevators are shown intact. Y

1. A fruit elevator comprising a tank adapted to contain liquid, two pulleys, one in the tank below the liquid level and the on said pulleys, an outer flexible belt secured to the inner belt by blocks common to both belts, said blocks being spaced apart to' form loops in the limb between said pulleys thereby forming .V-shaped pockets between the pulleys and over said blocks, and means for guiding the belt.

2. An elevator comprising a tank adapted to contain liquid, a belt in the tank having an upper limb thereof partiallybelow the `liquid level, means for looping such limb and the beltV below the lliquid level'at one portion and unlooping the same above the liquid level at another portion, and said loops kforming vV-shaped pockets between the pulleys, and means for driving the belt.

3. An elevator comprising'two belts, one of said belts being inside the other, blocks between the belts to hold them apart at intervals, V-shaped pockets on the blocks, a tank adapted'to contain liquid, and means for holding the belts aslant partially below the liquid level, the inner belt comprising an upper limbV having a curved portion below the liquid level and a straight portion'extending from said curved portion upwardly across the plane of the liquid level, forming loops in the outer belt extendingY in line from below to above the liquid level and means for driving the belts.

4. The combination of two pulleys( arranged on horizontal axes at different levels,

a belt on said pulleys, connectors nat intervals on said belt, afbelt carried by said conneotors outside of and spaced apart from the first named belt, a tank adapted to oontain liquid to partially submerge the upper limb of the outer belt whereby liquid may be made to serve as feeding means below the top of the upper pulley, and V-shaped pockets on the connectors.

5. In an elevator comprising a tank adapted to contain liquid, a pulley extending below the liquid level of the tank,` a

pulley above said level, a eonveyer eompris- .f

ing two belts, one outside the other, spaced apart from and fastened to each other at intervals and running around said pulley; and a wheel provided with flexible flippers on its rim and adapted to run in said tank below said level to move floating contents of the tank toward the outer belt.

6. In an elevator comprising a tank adapted to contain liquid, and a conveyer for elevating fruit from the liquid; a wheel provided with yielding flippers on its rim, said wheel being adapted to run in the liquid to gently move floating contents of the tank toward the oonveyer.

7. A conveyer comprising a traveling belt vent the belt from bent around horizontal axes and arranged aslant to travel around said axes, and means for looping the uppermost limb of the belt outward to form V-shaped pockets along suoli limb between the bends.

8. A oonveyer comprising a traveling belt bent around horizontal axes and arranged aslant to travel around said. aXes; means for looping the uppermost limb of the belt outward to form V-shaped pocket-s along said limb between the bends, said means comprising a belt inside the traveling belt; Curved guides around which the inner belt is trained and supports between the belts to hold said belts apart at intervals, said belt being made ofmaterial that has suflieient body to predrooping between the supports.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto setour hands at Santa Paula, California, this 26th day of December, 1905.

JOI-IN B. HORRELL. ARTHUR S. BRYANT. In presence of- C. C. TEAGUE, R. L. CHURCHILL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

